By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe representative protist organisms from each of the six presently recognized supergroups of eukaryotes
Identify the evolutionary relationships of plants, animals, and fungi within the six presently recognized supergroups of eukaryotes
Identify defining features of protists in each of the six supergroups of eukaryotes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain why angiosperms are the dominant form of plant life in most terrestrial ecosystems
Describe the main parts of a flower and their functions
Detail the life cycle of a typical gymnosperm and angiosperm
Discuss the similarities and differences between the two main groups of flowering plants

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the two major innovations that allowed seed plants to reproduce in the absence of water
Explain when seed plants first appeared and when gymnosperms became the dominant plant group
Discuss the purpose of pollen grains and seeds
Describe the significance of angiosperms bearing both flowers and fruit

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the type of seeds produced by gymnosperms, as well as other characteristics of gymnosperms
Identify the geological era dominated by the gymnosperms and describe the conditions to which they were adapted
List the four groups of modern-day gymnosperms and provide examples of each
Describe the life cycle of a typical gymnosperm

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain how angiosperm diversity is due, in part, to multiple complex interactions with animals
Describe ways in which pollination occurs
Discuss the roles that plants play in ecosystems and how deforestation threatens plant biodiversity

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Identify the main characteristics of bryophytes
Describe the distinguishing traits of liverworts, hornworts, and mosses
Chart the development of land adaptations in the bryophytes
Describe the events in the bryophyte lifecycle

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the challenges to plant life on land
Describe the adaptations that allowed plants to colonize the land
Describe the timeline of plant evolution and the impact of land plants on other living things

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the traits shared by green algae and land plants
Explain why charophytes are considered the closest algal relative to land plants
Explain how current phylogenetic relationships are reshaped by comparative analysis of DNA sequences

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Identify the new traits that first appear in seedless tracheophytes
Discuss how each trait is important for adaptation to life on land
Identify the classes of seedless tracheophytes
Describe the life cycle of a fern
Explain the role of seedless plants in the ecosystem

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the important difference between the life cycle of amphibians and the life cycles of other vertebrates
Distinguish between the characteristics of Urodela, Anura, and Apoda
Describe the evolutionary history of amphibians

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the evolutionary history of birds
Describe the derived characteristics in birds that facilitate flight

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the distinguishing characteristics of chordates
Identify the derived characters of craniates that sets them apart from other chordates
Describe the developmental fate of the notochord in vertebrates

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the difference between jawless and jawed fishes
Discuss the distinguishing features of sharks and rays compared to other modern fishes

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Name and describe the distinguishing features of the three main groups of mammals
Describe the likely line of evolutionary descent that produced mammals
List some derived features that may have arisen in response to mammals’ need for constant, high-level metabolism
Identify the major clades of eutherian mammals

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the main characteristics of amniotes
Explain the difference between anapsids, synapsids, and diapsids, and give an example of each
Identify the characteristics of reptiles
Discuss the evolution of reptiles

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the derived features that distinguish primates from other animals
Describe the defining features of the major groups of primates
Identify the major hominin precursors to modern humans
Explain why scientists are having difficulty determining the true lines of descent in hominids